


French Toast

by blooming_o



Series: JO1 and Food [1]
Category: JO1 (Japan Band)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, and food too, brief mention of junkeigo, but more fluff is needed, idk what to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23136505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blooming_o/pseuds/blooming_o
Summary: French toast definitely tastes the best with love.
Relationships: Kawanishi Takumi/Kawashiri Ren
Series: JO1 and Food [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1663072
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	French Toast

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first ever work on ao3 so i'm excited uwu
> 
> based on a prompt i wrote on twitter

“Wait a minute… Junki… W-what do you mean?” 

“...”

“Fine. But this will be the first and the last time you do this, okay? I’m only going because he’s here already.”

Takumi ends the call with a sigh. He first met his best friend when he was a freshman; they were assigned in the same room in dormitory. Junki, a sophomore at that time and definitely a social butterfly, quickly warmed up with him and has given him precious advices with his study and campus life. The mentioned guy is a friend of Junki, Sato Keigo. Despite being in different colleges, they still keep in touch with each other after graduation and are now even sharing an apartment. Junki somehow convinced this busy senior, who is juggling both his thesis and internship in fashion design, to take him out for a Sunday brunch date. Takumi knows very well that Junki cares for his happiness, and he himself has assured Junki that he had moved on, but occasionally, there is this invisible weight dragging him down, preventing him from meeting new people. 

Whatever, he’ll just go along with the flow. 

“Hi.” The tall guy smiles, “I guess Junki only informed you about today not long ago, but I hope to make our time together enjoyable.”

“Nice to meet you.” Takumi nods and follows Keigo to his car. As expected from a fashion major, Keigo is well dressed: a beige turtleneck, blue jeans and a round pair of glasses. That probably explains why Junki is recently more fashionable, or at least he doesn’t mix random shirts and sweatpants when he hangs out with Takumi on weekends. 

Keigo is quite a gentleman, letting Takumi choose the music during the trip and checking if the air conditioner is in the right temperature or not. They mostly discuss about hobbies. Surprisingly, Takumi clicks with him more than he expected. At some point, Keigo starts to bring up wordplay jokes with a straight face. It’s been a long time since anyone other than Junki could make him laugh out loud this naturally.

“It’s not lunchtime yet but I wanted to show you my favorite cafe.” Keigo parks his car in an empty parking lot, “I heard from Junki that you like hamburgers and sweets, but bringing you to a McDonald’s isn’t a great idea for a date so here we are.” 

There is a small walking path leading to the main building of the cafe after they enter the front gate. Along the sides are various plants and flowers. A cherry blossom tree is in full bloom, its color matches Takumi’s hair. It certainly succeeds in catching their attention. 

“The color pink suits you,” Keigo compliments him. “Last night, I showed Junki some of my spring collection designs, which were cherry blossoms inspired. Somehow it reminds us of you.” 

“And last night is also part of the reason why you’re here with me now, Junki sure was persistent.” Keigo chuckles while opening the door to the cafe. Takumi smiles faintly. He glances at the tree one last time and proceeds to go inside. 

“I’ll order for us at the counter. What would you like to have?”, asks Keigo.

“Surprise me, I guess?”

“Are you sure? It’s gonna be my treat today so please don’t hold yourself back…”

“I’m fine with anything, but something sweet would be great? I’ll find us a table.”

The cafe is empty. This whole place is tranquil. They are the only guests Takumi can see within this space. He chooses the table next to a window that overlooks the garden. Plants have a calming effect, and he enjoys calmness. 

Keigo quickly joins him. The topic for their conversation is Junki. Besides similar music tastes and comedy, another common point of them is Junki. Although Takumi was grateful that Junki cooked for both of them a lot, he usually had to spend a long time cleaning the whole kitchen thoroughly. Yet they were a perfect combo, one could make a mess out of anything and the other was keen on cleanliness; one extrovert and the other introvert. Takumi loves his friend a lot. Keigo agrees with him, his eyes are sparkling and mouth grins wider than ever. He passionately tells Takumi about how great of a cook Junki is, how beautiful his singing voice is and how cute his smile is when Keigo tells him a particular good joke. Takumi understands that they live together now, but this isn’t exactly the manner of a friend talking about another friend. So far Keigo has only exuded this kind of excitement when he talks about Junki. Maybe he likes Junki.

The conclusion is probably drawn from his own experience. 

Takumi decides that he should stop overthink. 

While Keigo is talking, a waiter brings them two plates of food.

“Here’s your order, gentlemen. Enjoy your meal.”

“Thank you.”

After the back of the waiter is gone, Keigo happily introduces the dish to Takumi, as it was a specialty of this cafe. 

It is french toast with fresh berries, decorated with cherry blossom petals. 

Takumi freezes. Keigo has already taken some bites of the toast, yet Takumi is struggling to finish a piece. The mixture of sweet honey, soft bread and slightly sour strawberries melts in his mouth. It tastes identical to Ren’s version. 

French toast reminds him of his first morning on Ren’s bed. It was after a heavy shower the evening before that gave Ren an excuse to bring Takumi to his apartment. That morning, they were officially boyfriends.

French toast reminds him of his first brunch date with Ren. It was a month after that incident. They went to a local restaurant since Ren wanted to improve his cooking. Takumi had a burger. Sharing was involved. 

French toast reminds him of the afternoon tea break in his room with Ren. Junki was out with Keigo. Takumi was a little more motivated to finish his assignments with the sweet reward he would receive after that. 

French toast reminds him of the chaste kisses in the kitchen while Ren was cooking. That escalated into deep and breathless ones. Luckily, they managed to save the almost burnt toasts. The dish was finished with them cuddling on a couch. 

French toast reminds him of the person who unintentionally broke his heart and has gone to somewhere, far far away, a place where he can never reach.

French toast reminds him of that bright smile he saw in his dreams, which he always ended up crying himself back to sleep. 

French toast reminds him of the one he loved the most.

French toast reminds him of Kawashiri Ren.

This french toast is supposedly tasty, but with this sudden surge of sadness, Takumi can’t seem to taste any of that. Through his blurry vision, he can sense that Keigo is flustered and worried for him. He can feel Keigo’s gentle pats on his back but he can only cry. Droplets after droplets keep running down on his pretty face. Painful memories come flooding back like a film rolling in front of his eyes... 

“Sorry, I can’t love you anymore. You are too annoying for my liking.”

“W-what…”

“Bye.”

That morning, Takumi silently woke up before Ren to make french toasts for breakfast. He wanted to surprise his boyfriend. First attempt and unfortunately a last one, and that person never got to taste it. The dish was cold then. The floor which he was lying on, curling into a ball, crying alone was much colder. 

“How could you…”

“I loved you so much…”

“...I still do” 

Incoherent words are muttered from his mouth. Saltiness from tears is filled his taste buds. His eyes shut tightly. His heart is aching. His head is spinning. His breathing is getting more rapid. He can’t take this anymore…

“Takumi?”

Takumi opened his eyes. Ren is staring right into him, with a very concerned expression on his face. Takumi can feel the wetness on his face. 

“I heard your heavy breathing and sobbing so I rush in here to wake you up”, Ren softly speaks.

Takumi just stares at the floor. He’s in his room, in their apartment. He’s sitting on his bed. It’s warm and soft. It’s quiet but he’s not alone. The first thing he says after the silence is a question.

“Do you love me?”

Ren is obviously taken aback. Although he isn’t the expressive type in public and is sometimes shy even when they’re in private, he had enough confidence to believe that his feelings were conveyed clearly. The desperate look in the eyes of the pink head is more than enough to prove him wrong. 

In the most gentle way possible, Ren wraps the little boy in his arms. Hands proceed to travel up and down Takumi’s back, run through his silky hair and then cup his tear-stained face. Their foreheads touch. Ren stares directly at Takumi, the latter has no other choice but to look at him. A repeated chant of “I love you” echoes around the room. He affirms his words by pressing tender kisses all over Takumi’s face, from his eyelashes to his cute moles, red nose, and soft cheeks. He never once forgets to say “I love you” between each kiss. The receiver of these kisses is heating up quickly, all blushing and flustered. His chin is lifted and now both of them are melted in a deep kiss.

“I’m sorry if I’ve done something for you to worry about this. But I hope you know that I’m truly in love with you. You’re the most precious thing alive and even if I’m not the best guy, I’ll give you all the love you deserve.”

Takumi can’t look at him. He is on the verge of crying but he wouldn’t want to worry Ren further than this. 

“By the way, I’ve just finished preparing our breakfast. Wash up and come to the kitchen quickly, honey.” Ren animatedly says, while standing up and leaving the bedroom. 

Just before Ren is out of reach, Takumi tugs on his apron and whispers

“I love you too. A lot.”

Ren laughs in his signature breathy voice, gives Takumi a last pat on his head and finally walks out. A smile blooms across his face while he freshens up in the bathroom before breakfast. 

They have french toast for breakfast. 

It is french toast with berries, decorated with cherry blossom petals. 

It is magically similar to his dream. Their usual french toast didn’t have any flowers for decoration like this, but out of all the dishes, it is today's that Ren decides to try this. Ren is telling the story behind the new addition to these plates, that he came across this small bag of edible flowers and this one particular flower reminded of his cute lover. While eating, they discuss about the date and place to go see cherry blossoms.

It’s a peaceful spring morning. 

Eventually, Ren asks Takumi about what he dreamed but said boy just shakes his head, refusing to tell it. “I’m glad you’re here,” Takumi grins widely. 

They continue to chat while chewing the bread. At some point, the topic of Junki and Keigo comes up. Takumi is frustrated, wondering if he should just scream directly at Junki’s face about Keigo’s crush and lock them in a room. That has Ren in fits of laughter. 

“Just wait a bit more, I think Keigo is up to something with how suspicious he’s acting lately,” Ren giggles. 

“He’d better do something or I’ll really do it,” Takumi cheekily sticks his tongue out. 

They are soon done with their dishes. Ren suddenly pulls the small boy close to him. There is some syrup sticking on the corner of Takumi’s mouth and the other boy licks it. He blows a kiss to him, yet just seconds after that, he’s already laughing in embarrassment. Takumi finds it weird how simple actions like that can make him feel loved. He is happy. They are happy. For now, he'll put that dream aside.

French toast definitely tastes the best with love.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for staying until the end.  
> i don't think this fic is good but i just wanted some fluff


End file.
